Senate committee advances House Bill 40 to cut income tax, exempt bullion gains and broaden military-retirement exemption

Representative Monks, sponsor of House Bill 40, told the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee that the measure contains three parts: it would remove capital‑gains treatment for bullion (gold and silver), expand an existing retirement income exemption that affects military and other public‑service retirees, and reduce the state individual income tax rate as part of what he called “the largest income tax cut in Idaho’s history.”

Monks said the bullion change stems from a view that gold and silver function like money rather than income‑producing property. “Gold and silver … is nothing more than money,” he said, arguing that people buy bullion as a hedge against inflation and should not face capital‑gains tax on those purchases. He described the tax‑rate reduction as a numbers change in the code intended to keep Idaho competitive with neighboring states.

The bill drew detailed questions from committee members…